


Missed

by intheheart



Series: Nirwen Lavellan [5]
Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-03
Updated: 2015-10-03
Packaged: 2018-04-24 15:10:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4924384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/intheheart/pseuds/intheheart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nirwen Lavellan has a new baby brother, and has been too occupied helping care for her family to spend time with Nehn. Still carrying on their relationship mostly in secret, the two finally reunite.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Missed

Nirwen yawned as the sun stretched higher in the morning sky, dispersing the cloak of another long night. She handed her brother, all of three days old, to her exhausted mother once more. Etharla's third child was her longest labor yet, with more than two days gone before Rodan felt the world was ready for his entrance. Nirwen stayed with her mother while the healer and midwife attended her throughout. Her father was supposed to be back the day before Rodan's birth, but was delayed by travel complications. He was expected now this day. Ela was asleep in her bedroll, clutching a small straw doll. She would be up again before many more hours passed. Nirwen knew, and there were preparations to be made before entertaining the idea of taking any sleep for herself.  
  
She handed her mother a cloth, as Etharla gently pulled Ro back from a fresh suckle to wipe his mouth. The babe was peaceful and ruddy, unlike the scarlet agitation of pre-dawn. The next she knew, her mother's voice returned her from the blunt edge of a doze. Pulling herself up through the thickness of tempting sleep, Nirwen prepared some fruit for Ela to eat when she awoke, and gathered the cloths to be laundered later that day. Finally, she handed her mother some water and several meat strips. Ro was a healthy baby, according to Melindra, but the extended labor had resulted in more blood lost than was preferable. Careful attention had prevented lasting effects, but her mother needed to recover strength and keep up her milk.  
  
Immediate needs all settled, Nirwen drifted below a light cover nearby, in spite of the brightening light, giving into the exhausted fog that beckoned, unheeded, through the hours. Limbs weighted to the floor, mind slipping into grayness, miles and miles from here, interrupted by a pang of guilt at the thought of Nehn that would be half remembered on awakening.  
  
“Nirwen, wake up.”  
  
The realization that a small finger lifted her left eyelid slowly pulled her from the depths of sleep. Ela's wide gaze blurred back into reality. The hollowness in her stomach was intense as she sat up, yawning, only to see Elathyn more clearly. Her sister's hair was braided, and she hugged their father at the waist. Nirwen smiled at them both, let another yawn go, and got up to embrace Papae as well. “You've returned safely,” she said, releasing the hug and meeting the eyes so much like her own, “We prayed for it.”  
  
“Ela woke your mother earlier when I got back,” he said in a low voice, settling back in a way as to hold both of his girls. “The journey took longer for securing the goods, but this family was all I thought about. Knowing your mother was here with you, both of you, is just as much a gift as Rodan.”  
  
“And we ate and he braided my hair up,” chimed in Ela. Nirwen smiled at her sister, then stifled another yawn.  
  
“I should go prepare for today. Now that you're here, Papae, you can mind Ela while I get some of this washing done. Melindra should be back a little later to check on mother, and may bring others like she did yesterday”. Celebrating births in the clan was nothing new, but Nirwen could tell that the visits themselves were both welcoming and taxing on her recovering mother. Melindra was a skilled healer, and was confident there was nothing to worry about, but Etharla nonetheless seemed more relaxed once alone again with her children.  
  
Grabbing some fruit and a basket of laundry, Nirwen stepped into the early afternoon and filled her lungs with the sun-touched air. She yawned again in the brightness of the day, feeling a touch of nausea with another reminder that her stomach was emptier than empty. Two pieces of fruit were there and gone before she even set off. She hoisted the basket against her hip, holding it steadily as she stepped down the path. After three months in this settlement, even a tired girl knew the way, and she let her mind drift as she walked.  
  
Suddenly, the sun was gone, a familiar set of lightly calloused fingers spread over her eyes, the scent of spicy herbal oils familiar, and ever closer with the face now pressed warmly against her neck, shaking with giggles. The basket, forgotten, tumbled down with a smack. It was a good thing these pieces hadn't been laundered just yet. Nirwen turned toward Nehn, the latter's hands at her waist now, but she was too tired and too glad to see her to care about the dropped basket. Guilt at not seeing her or seeking her out gnawed at her stomach, but Nehn's face, a face which frequently gave nothing away, was relaxed and smiling. This almost made it worse.  
  
“Nehn...I'm sorry. I-I didn't come find you, didn't stop to---” she blurted.  
  
“Nirwen, I was on my way to see you when I spotted you leave,” she said with a bright laugh, the freckles under her eyes even warmer like this. “I would've been around sooner, but Ferronil had me out training Merani the past two days, and that girl is always to the right of her targets. It was up to me to keep correcting her form and reminding her that wind has an effect.” She knelt down beside Nirwen, who was already gathering up the spilled clothes, and held the basket steady while she carefully refilled it. “I heard your father has returned.”  
  
“He has. We're all glad to have him back. My mother is strong, but I know she feels better now.” They rose together, each grasping one of the basket's handles as they began down the rest of the way, chatting about the events of the past days.  
  
Once at the river, Nirwen carefully piled what she had to wash onto a rock nearby. She took a small bottle from a pocket, and, dunking the piled garments into the water, she dripped some of the tincture upon them. Nehn grabbed a small rock and began to assist, pulling down some of the clothes Nirwen prepped, then going over some of the spots with the rock. There were a few garments from Nirwen and Ela, but, given the newly arrived youngest of the family, most of the soiled things before the two girls were made that way by Ro. They had to take advantage of the remaining daylight to get this all done and back to the camp. While it wasn't very cold, the shorter days had indeed come upon the world, and Nirwen's few hours of sleep had already carried her into the early afternoon. The two of them worked on laundry just as intuitively as on a hunt, and it made her chest warm to watch Nehn's downward gaze, her eyelashes almost touching her cheeks, and her fingers, long and steady, working in careful strokes.  
  
“Nehn,” she began, while finishing up the final piece, “I'm glad we had this time. Even if it was mostly cleaning after my brother.” Nehn looked up, about to speak, when Nirwen stuck her tongue out and laughed. “I missed you.”  
  
They would have to go hang everything to dry soon, but Nirwen sighed, glad to steal a moment from this day. She rinsed her hands, dried them on her tunic, and walked over to where Nehn sat, legs crossed, on the grass. She gazed upward, putting her arms out. Nirwen stepped a leg, then the other over her, settling into Nehn's lap, the latter pulling her close.  
  
Pressed against Nehn, melting into her once more, she surprised herself with how her eyes blurred in the moment, the mix of exhaustion and realization how much it was possible to miss someone, even in just a few days. It was so reckless out here, on the bank everyone knew, but for everything, they were alone now, regardless. They could have stayed this way, holding one another, afraid to squeeze too tightly and crush, but also never wanting to let go. Nirwen's head rested on Nehn's shoulder, happy that her heart fluttered as fast as her own, Nehn's hands firmly on her lower back as Nirwen's tongue made small circles on her neck before turning them into light kisses that trailed to her lips. They loosened their embrace as their foreheads lightly met. Both knew what the fading light meant, but neither gave just yet, both returning for the next kiss as if they were as the timeless immortals before the fall. Just another moment, or two, of uncontrollable smiling and the inevitable pull of the other's mouth.


End file.
